Hello
I have a friend that is a level 5 and he has been in prison for 19 years.He has his GED and he works as a cook.He had his review for level and they told him his level will be staying at level 5 because he needs more skills. The state Mo doesn't pay for anymore school and he told me they can not apply for a Pell grant. My question is does anyone know what he should be doing to get more skills? Also I understand the state can keep an inmate all of his sentence. With that He was given 45 years in 1988 and he was saying that there was a differnet amount they had to serve then prisoners today amount.He didn't use a weapon or kill anyone. Yes he did a bad crime.But what I don't understand is there are people that kill people now and get less time then that..I thank you for any input on this.
Ernie

I am not an expert on this information and perhaps someone with more knowledge to the specific security levels will chime in... My Partner was a level 5 with his GED and no other 'skills' to speak of and he was lowered to a level 4. He cannot go below a level 4 because of one of his crimes however.

Your security level also has to do with your original crime, as well as your violations while in custody. Security levels are only reviewed once a year.

If they want him to come to the table with more skills, then all that has to happen is he needs to ask what skills they are looking for.

I don't want to offend anyone here, but often the case with someone incarcerated this long is that they are so used to be told what to do, when to do it, and how, that they forget how to take care of themselves and ask the basic questions that we would ask. This is not a slam against any Prisoner, this is a reality of institutionalization on the Prisoner and their mind and ability to direct their own life.

From what you have said, it would appear that if he is violation free for one year that he would be able to have his security level dropped. There must be more information that we are missing?

It's possible that they want him to take more classes. Not necessarily "skill" classes, but Victims Impact, Anger Management, Substance Abuse. Those sort of classes. And being in since 1988, he probably doesn't have many useful skills as far as finding a job. Not to knock anyone, but that is the first thing that came to my mind, where will he work?

As for the Pell Grant, that has been the case for many years. Prisoners are no longer eligible for those while in prison. He can take other correspondence classes, but he has to pay for them.

His security level also has to do with the amount of time left on a sentence. If he has more than 7 years left for a violent crime, he has to stay a level 5. If he has 5 years or more for any other crime, he has to stay a level 5. The state is now realizing (DUH) that they are releasing people out of level 5 prisons, so they are looking to get the reentry programs instituted into them.

I agree with Tebkrg, he needs to flat ask the board what skills they are meaning. That is the only way to find out.

I'm not sure they are considered "skills" but it could be what the board is talking about. I know they like it when a person takes all sorts of classes. It shows that you are trying to change and make yourself better.